PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[KimberlyH]

amber 1-3 oz per session is normal output. my lc recommended pumping between 1-5 am before baby eats, but then said she never did, if she was up her daughter was going to be too. i pump once a day for 10-15 mins about 1 hour after her 1st meal of the day, 2nd if i can't force myself out of bed. if it's not too early i shower first, the warm water seems to help in getting more milk. warm compresses are recommended, i just take a shower because it saves me time, i'm clean and ready to pump, how efficient. she rarely gets bottles, i'm stockpiling for return to workand a possible trip this summer, we'd be leaving j with my parents. my husband keeps telling me to take a day off but my obsessive personality won't allow for it. he asked this morning if he can sell my milk. what a dork.
he has no idea that all that milk doesn't even amount to two days worth of food for the baby.

 

[AmberWaves]

Kimberly, that was tremendously helpful, thank you so much!

 

[KimberlyH]

no problem. i played a bit with pumping and found the later it was the harder for me to find time. that along with production slowing in the afternoon, it flows early morning ebbs in the evening due to hormone production, which is one of the reasons why babies who feed at the breast cluster eat in the evening. but my understanding is that it is rare to run out of milk, like it doesn''t happen rare, it could be that the flow is just too slow for piper because you added a feed, by pumping, and your supply needs to adjust. i would pump and keep offering breast, perhaps a bit more often than usual, to give your body a chance to adjust.

 

[AmberWaves]

Thanks again, Kimberly. Exactly what I wanted to hear, what to do! I''m going to try to do a breastfeeding marathon this weekend. Her weight loss scared me.

 

[jcrow]

amber - funny, i just asked the same questions about bfeeding a couple of days ago. right now i pump once a day [well not the last couple of days] right after her feeding. i pump for 10 minutes and get about 1.75 - 2.5 ounces. i also use a manual pump, so i''m sure that affects the amount of milk i get too.

if it hurts you, can you change the size of the flanges? or lessen the pumping strength? also, try putting lanolin on your nips to help with the friction.

 

[KimberlyH]

amber a weekend of breastfeeding is what i would do, along with an early morning pump and then throughout the day if you need to add more than one.

my understanding is that ebf babies eat the same amount between one and six months, then it adjusts as solids are introduced. average is 25 oz per day and typical range is 19-30 oz. no clue how they figured this out, but that''s what i''ve read.

jcrow, i hated pumping manually. i tried a few times got nothing but frustrated and quit.

we had issues when i first started pumping, j would scream and swat. i figured out a few things were going on. overtired, slow flow. i knew there was milk because i could hand express, try that to reassure yourself when you''re feeding her, amber.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Amber, I think the pumping marathon will set things straight! And drink lots of water and add oatmeal, fenugreek, etc. if you want, too.

When I'm pumping between feedings, I usually wait 45 minutes to an hour after I started feeding her because otherwise I get very little. I seem to get about an ounce per hour after feeding her, maybe more on the shorter end (like 1.5 ounces an hour later) and less on the later end (like 3.5 ounces after 4 hours). So when I hear people who gets lots of ounces after very little time, I am jealous! I am making the pumping thing work by pumping extra on the weekends so that I have a head start (because I send 12 oz. to daycare but pump only 8-10 oz. a day during work, which I would do every 3 hours if I could, but on a teacher's schedule it's just at random times depending on the day -- today there was confusion over which lunch one of my classes was supposed to eat, and I announced that they could NOT stay in my room during lunch because I had to pump!), and I also pump at night after she goes to bed. A couple of times this has screwed me because she woke up immediately after I pumped at 10 p.m. hungry, and there was nothing for her, and DH had to give her what I just pumped in a bottle. I don't seem to be able to pump right before feeding her -- then she's unsatisfied, but even if it's only been 1.5 or 2 hours since I pumped when she wants to BF, she seems fine.

At first we were mixing our oatmeal with BM (I don't know what I was thinking . . . that water would hurt her?), but then I realized that it was making it even more difficult to pump enough for her, so we started using water (which it says is ok on the box), which works fine.

If you stick with the pumping, your body will start making more.

As far as how I often I do it, here's our work day "schedule":

6:30 a.m. BF
7:45 a.m. oatmeal + baby food
9:30 a.m. 6 oz. BM bottle
10:30 a.m. baby food
1:30 p.m. 6 oz. BM bottle
5:00 p.m. BF
7:00 p.m. oatmeal + baby food
8:00 p.m. BF

On the weekend I BF her at 3 to 4 hour intervals and pump an hour or so after feeding her when it's convenient (or more if it's after she's gone to bed). So she is getting BM about 5x a day now.

 

[AmberWaves]

Thanks for all the tips and advice everyone, it helps so much, so glad this is the weekend (so I can lay around topless!) !

 

[Sha]

viz - UGH!!! I''m so sorry for what you and the DH and C are going through......

That pedi certainly didn''t help.

I hope you guys catch a break soon.

Amber - I just use formula to mix with the cereal. I stopped pumping after breaking my 3rd pump in five months. I hated pumping too.

Hope everyone else is doing okay. Had a busy week at work this week and next week will be worse, so I''m probably only going to be reading and running, most days.

**********
Confession - The daycare lady told me Dalila was hungry when I picked her up lunchtime. Instead of feeding her right away, I distracted her by rocking her in her chair until I could snarf down my own meal.

Eating with her in lap is usually disastrous since she tries to grab everything off my plate.

Love all the pics posted!!!

Here''s my contribution - Dalila chilling after church last Sunday:

 

[Sha]

Fallnig over and laughing at herself:

 

[MonkeyPie]

Just a quick moment to post my BPF - I''ll come back tomorrow!

 

[drk]

MP - I found you on the other site! And steph and a couple of others, I think. Hope you recognize the profile photo when you get my request! Please suggest other friends, as I'm not sure who's who. He's a cute little peanut!

Amber - Kim has great advuice. I pump immediately after feeds and get 0.5-1oz. If it's been a long stretch at night and she only took one side, I'll get 2oz. Be sure your flanges are big enough, and consider getting a hands-free bra. Much more bearable that way.

 

[drk]

Here''s my BPF shot - 2mo on the changing mat.

Kate

 

[Mara]

such cute kiddos!! PS'ers make the most darling babies.

kim...i didnt realize EBF babies ate the same until month 6, i thought that it ramped up as they grow? because with the growth spurts (aka 2 months, 4 months) it seems like some moms have had a problem keeping up with their LO's til their bb's catch up too.

amber...i think if you keep at pumping also you might start to get more, your bb's might need some time to adapt to both P's mouth and the pump, they are totally diff. at first i didn't get much with the pump but now that i am EP i can get up to 7oz at one pump. sometimes it's just 3-4oz.

for those who feed oatmeal, did you start with rice cereal then move to oatmeal or just start with oatmeal etc? for those who did rice then oatmeal, what did your baby think/seem to like better?

J gets rice cereal right now in his nighttime bottle and he seems to LOVE it. we use EB. i plan to keep it like that for a while but just wondering if we can move to oatmeal maybe in a month (5 months) since he has already been doing rice cereal since month 2. i'd rather oatmeal for the nutritional value vs rice.

i tried boob again today just for the heck of it but he was having none of it. screams, red face, swatting. i pumped. so i think my actual BF'ing days are over, it's kind of sad actually...i was hoping to keep that one feed in there as i had kind of grown to like the closeness...but he likes the synthetics i guess. G said that when he's older, we'll have to remind him how he REJECTED the boob. i am sure he will love that.

does anyone have nightmares about what if the freezer door is left cracked one day and all your BM thaws out? i totally do. i am always checking it.

 

[KimberlyH]

mara, i assume growth spurts would be the exception to the amounts typically consumed. my understanding is that because the components change to meet babies needs as they age the amount eaten remains the same.

i don''t check the freezer but i do worry i''ve spent more time pumping than necessary for our needs and will end up tossing milk. i wonder if it can be donated.

 

[Mandarine]

I should be sleeping...but wanted to comment quickly!

DrK I saw your request but ignored it because of your "last name"...could you change it to something that does not include this site''s name?. Some of us here use our personal accounts on that site and don''t want our IRL friends to find us on this site, you know?. But I totally do want to be your friend! hehe.


Mara My boys were super constipated as it was because they were on the formula with the rice starch in it...so I didn''t want to start with rice cereal so I started with oatmeal! SO far so good. I love the Happy bellies because it has added probiotic and DHA. I have two more cans of that and after that I''m going to switch to making my own oatmeal for them...

***

AFM...SUPER long and fun day.

My sister came to visit in the morning!...then we had a playdate at my house this afternoon --10 babies total, including my boys!....who by the way were not happy at all during the playdate! (I don''t think they liked waking up from their nap to see a house full of people!).

Then had our neighbors over for drinks/dinner.

Now off to bed!

 

[mtjoya]

Guys, question? How did you guys adjust going back to work? How did you feel before? I am going back this Monday and I feel anxious, nervous, scared etc. What a weirdo huh? My friend/coworker told me to stop worrying, and to stop being foolish, that I am acting like the rest of the crew back at work. My feelings were hurt but after thinking about it I shouldn''t. What worries me is that there will be days where childcare will be tricky, my mom is scheduled to work the same days that I am working, but sometimes. My DH work is very flexible and is kewl about him going early and what not. My work isn''t. I have a lot of mixed feelings. I really hope that I didn''t have to work to stay with her for a bit but I have too and I then have feelings of not wanting to stay coped up in the house.

Thank you ladies in advance for your responses. Like I said, I have a lot of people IRL saying that I am being foolish and bare with it. I will miss my bebe and thinking about it, I don''t think it will be hard after all. I am trying to stay positive and focused!

Oh, yeah J is mad at me because I really didn''t take care of her today. I was SOOOO sick! Stomach problems, the whole 9. Feeling very s**tty. I had grandma and DH take care of her. When I went to go see her she would turn her head and not look at me!

She always gets wild/excited when she sees me! I am going to bombard her with many kisses!

 

[mtjoya]

Sha, MP, & Drk-SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoo cute! lol! so beautiful bebes!

 

[Mara]

haha mtj i always love reading your posts... i don't know why but they alwasys seem so infused with 'life' if that makes sense. sorry you are sick!!

anyway i don't think you are silly at all for worrying about returning to work! that is totally normal. and yes it may be life, or required and yes we may need to just do it but it doesn't mean that we can't be sad or worried about it and how it will affect things. i am so sad thinking i will only have a few hours at night with J until weekends...but that's the way it is and i know it's still more than some working moms will or do get. i'm sure it will be fine but yep i think that it will take an adjustment for sure..!! good luck lady.

mandarine, thanks for the info on the oatmeal. i don't think J is constipated but he tends to only go to the bathroom like once every 2 days. and then it's a huge one. he is getting anywhere from 1/2 to 2/3 BM and the rest is formula and also his rice cereal. maybe i will try him on oatmeal in another month or so.

kim, so do you know if you are doing something like exclusive pumping, how does your body know how to make the milk for a 4 month or 5 month old baby vs a 1 or 2 month old baby? if you aren't getting that 'feedback' from the baby? does anyone know this? does your body just know how long you have been producing milk and acts accordingly for the month/age? curious.

 

[mtjoya]

mara-LOL you should hear me talk! that''s funny! Some people say that I sound so professional, nice, sweet but I can get ghetto too. But thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. I am going to work nights 4p-2:30am. 4 days a week. I shouldn''t complain but I am going to miss my gorda (fatso) when I am gone. I will try not to think too much, I don''t wanna leak all over the place and spray ppl!

 

[KimberlyH]

mara, i don''t know for sure but here''s my best guess based on what i''ve read and what logic dictates: our body doesn''t know what age the baby is that is suckling any more than it would recognize a brand of pump. if someone nursed another woman''s child that was older or younger than her own baby her milk wouldn''t change. our bodies do know when we gave birth, though, and that is what would dictate the components of our milk. as for amounts produced, as you well knoow, what we pump is not necessarily indicative of the amount a baby eats. it is extremely uncommon for a woman not to have enough milk when feeding at the breast, but pumping, because it isn''t the same, doesn''t necessarily produce the same results. a baby will take what he needs when eating, and then change sucking pattern when done and seeking only to comfort suck so as to avoid another letdown whereas the pump will work for as many letdowns as the body will produce, so some women pump an abundance of milk while others don''t/can''t pump enough.

****

ah, my poor kid woke up starving at 1:30. she''s been sleeping until 4:30, she''s so tired and going back and forth between sucking hungrily and sleeping.

she napped with her arms out for a good amount of time this afternoon. maybe time yo start deswaddling for naps? she''s still got such jerky movrments though and she has 0 hand control. stoppin swaddling scares me. a friend told me her niece is still being swaddled at 22 months because "she likes it." i hope that doesn''t end up being jane!

we''re almost ready for our big trip. my husband is sad to be away from the baby, but he''s so done with company and her grandparents need to spend some time with her.

 

[drk]

Sha - forgot to say Dalila's gorgeou. She has the best smile.

Mandy - changed my PS name just for you (and anyone else who wants to keep things separate). Guess it might take a little time to actually change? How do you host playdates for 10 babies? I think twins alone would keep me 100% occupied.

Mara - thanks for the suggestions! I've heard the same stuff as Kim about BF. Also not sure how the milk knws to change as baby grows, but her idea makes sense to me. Sorry J doesn't want to nurse any more. Hope the same doesn't happen to K when I go back to work in 3 weeks. I'm going to miss my baby!

Viz - sorry he's sick/worse again. Hopefully the tubes will make a huge difference. Not long now!

Phoenix - I think we're having similar pumping/feeding experiences. I hate it when I just pumped and DH brings her along and asks if she's fussy because she's still hungry.

Mtjoya - I'mnervous about going back in 3 weeks. Will DH cope with her alone all day? Will I be able to pump enough to keep EBF? Will I miss her too much? Or will I feel guilty because I'm enjoying my job too much?

Kim - Hope you have a great trip. Ours has been good so far. Everyone's in love with Kara, and she's been pretty well-behaved.

I wonder if having a kid will get me out of my shell a little more, since there's always conversation fodder.

PS: I'm having some issues figuring out who's who on the other site. Any recommendations on how to match usernames here and there?

 

[taovandel]

I figured it out mainly based on pictures of the babies...otherwise I would have been lost trying to figure out who is who.

off to find a picture to post.

 

[KimberlyH]

drk, my name is a combo of mine and baby's. my husband is actually more social now. he is very private/reserved but seems to be coming out of his shell a bit more. we mad friends at cbe class and he hangs out with the husband without me and we're becoming friendly with neighbors that just adopted a 9 mnth old from africa. it's been great for me as i love having friends for dinner etc., actually just having friends as my closest girlfriends live 500 miles away.

mt, your feelings about work are normal.

****

i think we've hit 3 month growth spurt. j ate at 1, 3:30 and is eating again at.6:30. need caffeine, afraid to drink any anf have it will keep her awake in the car. yawn.

edited because there were typos and fragmented sentences. there probably still are.

 

[AmberWaves]

I love you guys. This morning I fed Piper (she slept from 8-7am) and she drank in big gulps. Then, an hour later I pumped from the other boob (the less productive one) and got three ounces. I figured Piper was good until three hours later, but whoops, nope. So I fed her from the pumped boob and she got enough to fall back to sleep! Woohoo! Now I''m sitting on the bed surrounded by pretzel m&ms (SO GOOD) and red vines. I''m like Roseanne here. Also, we were supposed to go to the park for a meetup with some high school classmates and their babies today, when I realized it was tomorrow. Whoops.

Going to try to go to sleep, while P is sleeping.

 

[phoenixgirl]

MP, I''m sorry your coworkers have been dismissive. It is definitely a hard transition, and while it is usually more stressful for mom than for baby, those emotions are real and nobody should tell you to get over it or suck it up or anything like that. I planned to send Claire to daycare a day early so that I could be at home during her first day in case she needed me (which she didn''t, of course). But after the first day, I realized that leaving her wasn''t the agony I thought it would be. My fear was that she would be miserable without me, but actually it''s been good for her.

I really don''t want to hurt anyone''s feelings, but as far as the other site goes, I''m not really into the anonymous friend thing . . . if we all just make anonymous profiles so we can share photos with each other, well, then, why don''t we just post more photos here? I get that it''s because people don''t feel comfortable sharing their personal information but want to find a way to still be "friends" and get in on the fun, but I feel much more comfortable trusting people who give me their real name. I''m not worried that Tao or Viz or Mandy is going to run off and start stalking me or anything, any more than the random lady I met one day watching the Tour de France in Paris who is my now my "friend" . . . (don''t get any ideas, ladies!) Maybe I''m just old-school because I joined when you had to provide a real name and a university email, but none of my other 400 friends have fake names, and it seems out of place to have this string of pseudonyms on a networking site.

PLEASE don''t feel like you have to justify yourself to me, anonymous folks (I will hate myself if I start ANOTHER debate on here!). Certainly you cannot be too circumspect these days. I just wanted to let you guys know why I have kept my PS friends on there limited to real folks, with a few exceptions. As little kids say . . . you show me yours, and I''ll show you mine.

AFM (I still always think that has something to do with Aunt Flo!), I am loving my new Maclaren Volo while I wait for my Mutsy 4Rider Light. I did have to jerry-rig the straps because as the reviews say, they are too loose for little babies, but it is pretty awesome for an umbrella stroller. We just tested it out at the art museum.

 

[Mandarine]

PG, I do get what you''re saying and couldn''t help to laugh with the "show me yours and I''ll show you mine!"...hehe. I do admit that I feel the same way you do. I''ve accepted pretty much everyone, but I would feel more comfortable if they were their "real" accounts. I feel like I''m opening my door, but don''t get the same trust in return. Like PG, I''m not trying to offend or upset anyone....and I have accepted everyone because well, you''re all my friends! so while it does bother me a bit, I don''t want you to feel like I don''t want to be your "friend" (that sounded SO high school! hahaha)

...I did delete anyone with the "Pricescope" name...just because I do not want my "real" friends reading what I post in here...since I do come here to vent, etc and don''t really need that stuff getting back to my personal life and taken out of context.

***

On another note...playdates

Oh My...how do I host playdates?...well, I think it''s easier for me to have everyone come here than it is for me to go to someone''s house! haha...so I probably like hosting them more for a selfish reason. At this stage the playdates are still more for the moms (I''ve been in the same group since the boys were 2 months!). We''ve all become good friends and I look forward SO MUCH to our time with the other moms and babies!. All the babies have fun (they are now starting to play with each other!) and we get to chat, have some snacks, etc. It''s the best!!!

If you guys are not in some sort of mommy group...I definitely recommend it...(Amber just stay away from THAT mommy group!!!!!!!). It''s just nice to have friends that are going through the same thing you are...and for the little ones to have a chance to socialize.

Anyway, gotta go because I''m starving!!! Have a great Saturday night everyone!!!!!!

 

[cdt1101]

mtj - I think you have every right to be anxious/upset about returning to work. Anyone who says you need to "suck it up" is just being cruel IMHO. The night before I went back I literally cried myself to sleep...well more like sobbed. It was horrible. But, surprisingly I did fine once I got to work the next day. Sure dropping him off at daycare was sad, but I only cried a little once I got to my car and never shed another tear since. As much as I wanted to stay home w/ him, being back at work revived the "old" me and I liked it. Honestly I was soooo surprised how much I didn't mind being back at work since I felt so strongly that I wanted to stay home.

As "luck" would have it, I found out shortly after returning to work that I would be losing my job. So as of August 1st I'll be a SAHM anyway, it's crazy what a roller coaster this past year has been! But knowing that I actually don't mind being a working mom, I (currently) don't plan to take more than a year off.

I hope you come to terms w/ being a working mom. Take it day by day. Try to keep an open mind about the situation and focus on the positives.

One thing that's worked for me is when I get home from work I focus only on my son. Dinner, cleaning, whatever just has to wait. After he goes to bed I worry about all the other things.

Good luck!

 

[steph72276]

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. We have been on the go all weekend meeting friends for dinner last night and had a birthday party to go to today. I am ready to just relax and do nothing tonight!

PG, I can''t speak for anyone else but my personal reasoning for having a different name is because I use PS to vent and share stories I probably wouldn''t share with others IRL, so I don''t really want any people with PS in their names or any PS references on my real name. I do get what you''re saying though...

 

[drk]

Is it normal for BF frequency to drop around week 9-10? K has started going 4-5 hours between feeds at night, and occasionally during the day. I''m scared my supply will be affected, but also don''t like to wake her from a great nap during the day. Don''t have access to my scale till I get home on Thurs night, so I can''t check the weight gain partway through allowing these changes to occur.